Air conditioner

ABSTRACT

There is provided an air conditioner. The air conditioner includes a rear cabinet, a front cabinet, a blower fan, a heat exchanger, and a panel assembly. The front cabinet is coupled to a front of the rear cabinet, and includes an intake port formed at a lower side portion thereof and a discharge port formed at an upper side portion thereof. The blower fan is installed in an inner lower portion of the rear cabinet for suctioning indoor air. The heat exchanger is installed above the blower fan for exchanging heat with the suctioned indoor air. The panel assembly is installed on a front of the front cabinet for interchangeably mounting a picture, photograph, etc. thereto.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to an air conditioner, and moreparticularly, to a standing indoor unit of an air conditioner forallowing pictures or photographs displayed at the front thereof to beeasily interchanged, thus providing the functional benefits of an airconditioner with an added aesthetic factor for interior decoration.

2. Description of the Related Art

Refrigerants circulating inside air conditioners undergo compression,condensing, expansion, and evaporation stages of a refrigeration cycle.In an air conditioner, refrigerant is first compressed to become high intemperature and pressure, and loses heat to the outside in a condenser,after which it passes through an expansion valve, gradually cooling anddepressurizing. The cooled and depressurized refrigerant flows throughan evaporator, absorbing heat along the way, and is then recycled to thecompressor.

Here, the compression, condensing, and expansion stages occur in anoutdoor unit of an air conditioner; and the evaporation stage occurs inan indoor unit by virtue of a blower fan and a heat exchanger.

Air conditioners are grouped into two basic types: single unit airconditioners that consist of a single unit which performs the entirerefrigeration cycle, installed in a wall opening such as a window, andsplit system air conditioners that have a separate indoor and outdoorunit that are respectively installed indoors and outdoors.

Such air conditioner indoor units according to the related art havefront portions that function only as covers. That is, a front coverinstalled at the front of an indoor unit functions to preventcomponents, such as a blower fan, heat exchanger, etc., from beingexposed to the outside, as well as preventing electrocution or injury ofchildren who may otherwise stick their hands inside the unit.Accordingly, the front of an indoor unit has a monotonous and stoicfeel, and does not harmonize well with an interior.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, the present invention is directed to an air conditionerthat substantially obviates one or more problems due to limitations anddisadvantages of the related art.

An object of the present invention is to provide an air conditionerindoor unit with a structure that allows easy installation and removalof pictures or photographs to and from its blank front cover, so thatthe unit fulfills its air conditioning duties, as well as complementsthe decor of an interior space.

Additional advantages, objects, and features of the invention will beset forth in part in the description which follows and in part willbecome apparent to those having ordinary skill in the art uponexamination of the following or may be learned from practice of theinvention. The objectives and other advantages of the invention may berealized and attained by the structure particularly pointed out in thewritten description and claims hereof as well as the appended drawings.

To achieve these objects and other advantages and in accordance with thepurpose of the invention, as embodied and broadly described herein, anair conditioner according to the present invention includes: a rearcabinet; a front cabinet coupled to a front of the rear cabinet, andincluding an intake port formed at a lower side portion thereof and adischarge port formed at an upper side portion thereof; a blower faninstalled in an inner lower portion of the rear cabinet for suctioningindoor air; a heat exchanger installed above the blower fan forexchanging heat with the suctioned indoor air; and a panel assemblyinstalled on a front of the front cabinet for interchangeably mountingan picture, photograph, etc. thereto.

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description andthe following detailed description of the present invention areexemplary and explanatory and are intended to provide furtherexplanation of the invention as claimed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a furtherunderstanding of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute apart of this application, illustrate embodiment(s) of the invention andtogether with the description serve to explain the principle of theinvention. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a frontal, three-quarter perspective view of a standing airconditioner indoor unit with a panel assembly according to the presentinvention;

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the standing air conditionerindoor unit in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a panel assembly according to the firstembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a panel assembly according to the secondembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a panel assembly according to the thirdembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a panel assembly according to the fourthembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a standing air conditioner indoor unitwith a panel assembly according to the fifth embodiment of the presentinvention; and

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a panel assembly according to the sixthembodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Reference will now be made in detail to the preferred embodiments of thepresent invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers will be usedthroughout the drawings to refer to the same or like parts.

FIG. 1 is a frontal, three-quarter perspective view of a standing airconditioner indoor unit with a panel assembly according to the presentinvention, and FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the standingair conditioner indoor unit in FIG. 1.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the standing air conditioner indoor unit 100according to the present invention includes a front cabinet 110, a rearcabinet 150 coupled at the rear of the front cabinet 110, a heatexchanger 130 mounted within and at the front of the rear cabinet 150 toexchange heat with indoor air, a blower fan installed below the heatexchanger 130 to suction indoor air, a HEPA filter 120 and an air filter121 inserted in a lower front portion of the front cabinet 110 to filterimpurities from indoor air, and a panel assembly 200 mounted to thefront of the front cabinet 110 to interchangeably attach pictures orphotographs thereon.

In more detail, a base 160 is installed below the rear cabinet 150, sothat the rear cabinet 150 is seated in the upper portion of the base160. A lower intake port 161 is formed at the front of the base 160 tosuction indoor air, and a lower intake vane 116 controls the opening andclosing of the lower intake port 161.

Also, an upper discharge port 112 is formed at the upper edge of thefront cabinet 110, and an upper discharge vane 111 controls the openingand closing of the upper discharge port 112. A side discharge port 113is formed at the upper side portion of the front cabinet 110, and a sidevane 115 controls the opening and closing of the side discharge port113. A side intake port 114 is formed at the lower side portion of thefront cabinet 110, and a side intake vane 115 controls the opening andclosing of the side intake port 114. Specifically, the side intake port114 and the side discharge port 113 are simultaneously opened and closedby the side vane 115.

A HEPA filter insertion slot 119 is formed at the front of the frontcabinet 110 to insert the HEPA filter 120 therein, and an air filterinsertion slot 118 is formed at left and right side edges on the frontof the front cabinet 110 to insert the air filter 121 therein. A dustfilter insertion slot 117 is formed inward of each air filter 121 forinserting a dust filter 170 therein.

The panel assembly 200 includes a front panel 210 pivotably coupled tothe front of the front cabinet 110, an art panel 230 attached to thefront of the front panel 210 to mount a picture or photograph thereon,and a front cover 220 attached at the front of the art panel 230 forprotecting the art panel 230.

In further detail, the front cover 220 may be made of a material thatallows the art panel 230 to be seen from the outside. A display 211 isformed on the front of the front cover 220 to display the operatingstatus of the indoor unit 100. Depending on the location of the display211, the art panel 230 may be formed as a single piece or divided intotwo or more pieces. In the following embodiment, a display 211 isinstalled at the relative center of the front panel 210, and the artpanel 230 is installed in two parts—above and below the display 211.

The operation of the standing air conditioner indoor unit 100 will nowbe described. First, when power is applied to the indoor unit 100 and an“on” button is pressed, a drive motor (not shown) operates to drive theblower fan 140. The blower fan 140 that is connected to the shaft of thedrive motor rotates, and refrigerant flows into the heat exchanger 130.Then, the side vane 115, the upper discharge vane 111, and the lowerintake vane 116 pivot to open the discharge and intake ports.

Indoor air is suctioned through the side intake port 114 formed at theside of the front cabinet 110 and through the lower intake port 161formed on the base 160. The air passes through the HEPA filter 120 andthe air filter 121 and is removed of dust and other impurities in afirst filtering stage. Then, the indoor air that passes through the airfilter 121 passes through the dust filter 170 in a second filteringstage. Next, the purified indoor air that has passed through the HEPA,air, and dust filters rises toward the heat exchanger 130. The indoorair then passes through the heat exchanger 130, whereupon it exchangesheat with refrigerant flowing through the inside of the heat exchanger130 and becomes cooler in temperature. The air that becomes cooler whilepassing through the heat exchanger 130 passes through the upper and sidedischarge ports 112 and 113 to be discharged back into the indoor space.Here, the side vane 115 pivots back and forth at a predetermined angleto distribute the discharged air evenly throughout the indoor space.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a panel assembly according to the firstembodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 3, the panel assembly 200 according to the presentinvention includes a front panel 210, a front cover 220 pivotablycoupled to the front of the front panel 210, and an art panel 230mounted to the front of the front panel 210 to attach a picture orphotograph thereto.

In further detail, the front panel 210 has an art panel mounting portion212 formed at the front thereof for mounting the art panel 230 in. Thefront cover 220 is pivotably coupled at one edge thereof to the frontpanel 210 by means of a hinge 240. Also, at least one magnet 221 isinstalled on the rear periphery (opposite to the edge where the hinge240 is installed) of the front cover 220. The portion of the front panel210 opposite to the magnet 221 may also have a magnet installed thereonfor providing mutually attracting magnetic force between the opposingmagnets. In the case where the front panel 210 is made of a metal thatattracts magnets, there is no need to install a magnet thereon. Themagnetic force of the magnet 221 maintains an edge of the front cover220 at a predetermined gap with the front panel 210 while preventingmovement thereof when the front cover 220 is closed.

The art panel 230 is mounted in two parts above and below the display211, so that a user is able to open the front cover 220 to freely changethe art panel 230. The size of the front cover 220 may be the same asthat of the front panel 220, or the front cover 220 may be formed torespectively cover and protect each part of the art panel 230. In otherwords, the front cover 220 may be installed above and below the display211 in sizes corresponding to the parts of the art panel 230. In thiscase, in order to change an art panel 230 installed above the display211, a user opens only the portion of the front cover 220 formed abovethe display 211, so that the front cover 220 can be more easily openedusing less force.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a panel assembly according to the secondembodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 4, the panel assembly 200 according to the presentinvention is characterized by the front cover 220 cohered to the frontpanel 210 by means of a hook.

In further detail, the front cover 220 is pivotably coupled to the frontpanel 210 by means of a hinge 240, as in FIG. 3. At least one hook 222is installed on the rear periphery of the front cover 220, so that thefront cover 220 coheres against the front panel 210 when the front cover220 is closed. A hook receptacle 213 is formed on the front of the frontpanel 210 to receive the hook 222 inserted therein. Here, the hook 222and the hook receptacle 213 may be oppositely formed. That is, the hook222 may be formed on the front panel 210, and the hook receptacle 213may be formed on the front cover 220.

In the above structure, in order to change an art panel 230 mounted inthe front panel 210, a user pulls the front cover 220 forward so thatthe hook 222 is released from the hook receptacle 213. Then, after theart panel 230 is replaced, the front cover 220 is pivoted on the hinge240 so that the hook 222 inserts back into the hook receptacle 213.

In this embodiment, the front cover 220 is the same size as the frontpanel 210, but may alternately be formed in two pieces corresponding tothe respective sizes of the two-part art panel 230.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a panel assembly according to the thirdembodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 5, the panel assembly 200 according to the presentinvention is characterized by the front cover 220 being completelydetachable from the front panel 210.

In more detail, a hook connects the front cover 220 and the front panel210 instead of the hinge 240.

A plurality of hooks 222 are formed on the rear periphery of the frontcover 220, and a hook receptacle 213 is formed on the front of the frontpanel 210 for the hook 222 to be inserted into. An art panel 230 ismounted in an art panel mounting portion 212 formed at the front of thefront panel 210.

In the above structure, in order to insert the hook 222 formed on therear of the front cover 220 into the hook receptacle 213, a user pushesthe front cover 220 against the front of the front panel 210. To detachthe front cover 220 from the front panel 210, the front cover 220 ispulled forward in the opposite direction.

In another method of completely detaching the front cover 220 from thefront panel 210, a magnet may be installed in place of the hook 222. Inother words, the magnet may be installed on the mounting location of thehook 222, so that the magnetic force couples the front cover 220 and thefront panel 210. Here, the number of magnets attached may be varied toadjust the magnetic force created, so that a user can easily detach thefront cover 220 from the front panel 210, while the front cover 220 doesnot autonomously detach from the front panel 210 and fall to the floor.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a panel assembly according to the fourthembodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 6, the panel assembly 200 according to the presentinvention is characterized by a cavity formed within the front panel 210for inserting the art panel 230 into, where the art panel 230 isinserted through the top or a side of the front panel 210.

In further detail, the front panel 210 is made of a transparent materialthat allows its inside to be visible, and a cavity having the samethree-dimensional size as the art panel 230 is formed within the frontpanel 210. An insertion slot 214 is formed on a side of the front panel210 for inserting the art panel 230 through.

In this structure, the art panel 230 can be freely interchanged, whilethe manufacturing cost of the panel assembly 200 is reduced.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a standing air conditioner indoor unitwith a panel assembly according to the fifth embodiment of the presentinvention.

Referring to FIG. 7, the standing indoor unit 100 of the air conditioneraccording to the present invention includes a front panel 210 installedat the front of a front cabinet 110, and a display device 300, such as aliquid crystal display (LCD), plasma display panel (PDP), and organiclight emitting diode (OLED) installed on the front of the front panel210.

Specifically, a digital data transfer portion is formed on a side of thefront panel 210 or the display device 300, and a cable 310 (or datatransferring member) is connected to the digital data transfer portionfor transferring digital data. An image from a digital signal that istransferred through the cable 310 is displayed on the display device300. Accordingly, a user does not need to physically mount a picture orphotograph, but can save a large quantity of pictures, photographs, andother images in digital format to display on the display device 300.

For example, after saving preferred pictures, photographs or movingimages as files on a computer, a user can display them on the displaydevice 300 through the cable 310. By thus providing the display device300, there is no need to manually change pictures or photographs, andthe front of the standing indoor unit 100 may function as a monitor aswell.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a panel assembly according to the sixthembodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 8, the panel assembly 200 according to the presentinvention is characterized by an art panel 230 that is mounted on afront panel 210 being mounted on the entirety of the front panel 210.

In further detail, as opposed to the first through fifth embodiments,the sixth embodiment re-positions the display 211 that was roughlylocated in the center of the front panel 210 to a peripheral locationthereon, or deletes the display 211 and provides only operatingcontrols.

It is clear that in addition to the structures of the front panel 210and the art panel 230 in the respective embodiments described above, thestructures of the two panels shown in FIG. 8 may be equally applied to astanding indoor unit of an air conditioner.

The standing air conditioner indoor unit according to the presentinvention performs not only the functions of a standing air conditionerindoor unit according to the related art, but also allows the display ofeasily interchangeable images such as art prints and family portraits atthe front thereof, to become a piece of furniture complimenting theinterior of a room.

By allowing the interchangeable display of photographs, pictures, etc.at the front thereof, the above structure of the standing airconditioner indoor unit can augment the interior decoration of a room,and thus has a high industrial applicability.

While the present invention has been described and illustrated hereinwith reference to the preferred embodiments thereof, it will be apparentto those skilled in the art that various modifications and variationscan be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of theinvention. Thus, it is intended that the present invention covers themodifications and variations of this invention that come within thescope of the appended claims and their equivalents.

1. An air conditioner comprising: a rear cabinet; a front cabinetcoupled to a front of the rear cabinet, and including an intake portformed at a lower side portion thereof and a discharge port formed at anupper side portion thereof; a blower fan installed in an inner lowerportion of the rear cabinet for suctioning indoor air; a heat exchangerinstalled above the blower fan for exchanging heat with the suctionedindoor air; and a panel assembly installed on a front of the frontcabinet for interchangeably mounting an image thereto.
 2. The airconditioner according to claim 1, wherein the panel assembly includes: afront panel installed on a front of the front cabinet; an art panelmounted on a front of the front panel and having an image attachedthereto; and a front cover covering a front of the art panel.
 3. The airconditioner according to claim 2, wherein the panel assembly furtherincludes at least one cohering member provided on at least one of a rearof the front cover and the front of the front panel, the cohering memberfor cohering the front cover to the front panel.
 4. The air conditioneraccording to claim 3, wherein the cohering member is a magnet.
 5. Theair conditioner according to claim 3, wherein the cohering member is ahook formed on the rear of the front cover, and the panel assemblyfurther includes a hook receptacle formed on the front of the frontpanel for inserting the hook into.
 6. The air conditioner according toclaim 2, wherein the front cover is detachably or pivotably coupled tothe front panel.
 7. The air conditioner according to claim 2, whereinthe front cover is coupled to the front panel through a hinge, to becapable of pivoting at a side of the front panel.
 8. The air conditioneraccording to claim 2, wherein the front panel has a mounting portionformed at a front thereof for mounting the art panel.
 9. The airconditioner according to claim 2, wherein the front panel is detachablyor pivotably coupled to the front cabinet.
 10. The air conditioneraccording to claim 1, wherein the panel assembly includes: an art panelfor attaching a picture or a photograph thereto; and a front panelinstalled on the front of the front cabinet for inserting the art panelin a side thereof.
 11. The air conditioner according to claim 10,wherein the front panel has: an insertion slot formed on an edge thereoffor inserting the art panel through; and a cavity formed therein forreceiving the art panel.
 12. The air conditioner according to claim 10,wherein the front panel is detachably or pivotably coupled to the frontcabinet.
 13. The air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein the panelassembly is one of an LCD (liquid crystal display), a PDP (plasmadisplay panel), and an OLED (organic light emitting diode).
 14. The airconditioner according to claim 13, wherein the panel assembly includes adata transfer portion formed on a side thereof for transferring digitaldata, and the panel assembly displays an image derived from thetransferred digital data.
 15. An air conditioner comprising: a blowerfan for suctioning indoor air; a heat exchanger installed above theblower fan for exchanging heat between the suctioned indoor air andrefrigerant; a cabinet assembly including the blower fan, the heatexchanger, and a filter assembly disposed therein, and an indoor airintake port and an indoor air discharge port formed at a front thereof;and a panel assembly including a front panel coupled to a front of thecabinet assembly, a front cover pivotably or detachably coupled to afront of the front panel, and an art panel mounted to the front of thefront panel, wherein the filter assembly is installed towards an insideof the indoor air intake for filtering impurities in the indoor airsuctioned by the blower fan.
 16. The air conditioner according to claim15, wherein the front panel is detachably or pivotably coupled to thecabinet assembly.
 17. The air conditioner according to claim 15, whereinthe front cover is detachably or pivotably coupled to the front panel.18. The air conditioner according to claim 15, wherein the front panelhas art panels mounted on an upper portion and a lower portion of thefront panel, and the front cover is provided in plurality torespectively cover each of the mounted art panels and couple to thefront panel.
 19. The air conditioner according to claim 15, wherein thefront cover is coupled to the front panel through a hook or a magnet.20. An air conditioner comprising: a blower fan for suctioning indoorair; a heat exchanger installed above the blower fan for exchanging heatbetween the suctioned indoor air and refrigerant; a cabinet assemblyincluding the blower fan, the heat exchanger, and a filter assemblydisposed therein, and an indoor air intake port and an indoor airdischarge port formed at a front thereof; and a front panel coupled to afront of the cabinet assembly; and an art panel inserted into the frontpanel, wherein the front panel includes an insertion slot formed on anedge thereof for inserting the art panel through, and a cavity formedtherein for receiving the art panel.
 21. An air conditioner comprising:a blower fan for suctioning indoor air; a heat exchanger installed abovethe blower fan for exchanging heat between the suctioned indoor air andrefrigerant; a cabinet assembly including the blower fan, the heatexchanger, and a filter assembly disposed therein, and an indoor airintake port and an indoor air discharge port formed at a front thereof;and a front panel coupled to the front of the cabinet assembly andformed with one of an LCD (liquid crystal display), a PDP (plasmadisplay panel), and an OLED (organic light emitting diode), the frontpanel including a data transfer portion formed on a side thereof fortransferring digital data.